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In many ways, the internet was integrated into the tsunami aftermath more than in any previous natural disaster. Billboards were established to exchange information about missing loved ones. Millions of dollars were raised for relief efforts and bloggers transmitted up-to-the-second news with unprecedented speed and often video images unavailable to traditional media. Bob speaks with Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0 at C-NET Networks, about the newfound efficacy of the internet.
Much of the tsunami footage that animated the coverage came courtesy not of CNN, ABC or Fox but from deputized citizen videographers. The material was released to the world via vlogs - or video logs - on the internet. Buzzmachine blogger Jeff Jarvis, says it's evidence that the long-promised revolution is no longer on our doorstep. It's in our computers, and all power to the people. Performer: Bill Frisell. Song: Washington Post March, Album: Have a Little Faith, Label: Elektra/Nonesuch
Radio broadcasts, of course, happen at a given time and receivers are either tuned in or not. Even satellite radio, which conquers the limitations of a radio signal, is fixed in time. But what if a radio program could be harvested and stored for internet distribution and played later at the convenience of the user? Then you would have what's called podcasting, a free technology that has come from nowhere over the past few months. This week, On The Media becomes the first NPR show to make itself available via podcast. Bob discusses the implications of podcasting with Tod Maffin, technology columnist for CBC Radio. Performer: Bill Frisell. Song: Street Scene In a Frontier Town, Album: Have a Little Faith, Label: Elektra/Nonesuch
In the early 1980's a Kansas City news anchor named Christine Craft won a half million dollar judgment after being demoted because of her age and her looks. The case gained national attention and sparked a conversation about sex and age discrimination in broadcasting. Recently former Weather Channel anchor Marny Stanier filed a similar suit when she was allegedly fired for her age. Bob speaks with Daniel Klein, the lawyer representing Marny Stanier. Performer: Duke Ellington. Song: Come Rain or Come Shine, Album: 22 Big Band Songs, Label: Hindsight
The New York Times has attracted a good deal of scrutiny this year. The latest broadside comes in a book titled "The Record Of The Paper: How The New York Times Misreports US Foreign Policy." The premise of authors Howard Friel and Richard Falk is that the paper of record irresponsibly stood mute as a series of US administrations flouted international law in pursuit of their global objectives. Bob speaks with Falk about his case against the Times. Performer: Keith Jarrett. Song: 'Long As You Know You're Living Yours, Album: Belonging, Label: ECM
It's early, but so far it hasn't been a very good millennium for the American magazine industry. Advertising fled during the recession, never completely to return. Circulation has been stagnant or worse and the editorial integrity of many titles has been called into question, as publishers seek to make advertisers happy with content more promotional than journalistic. But Samir Husni, professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi, is a bit more sanguine. He sees in the stories of failure a better recipe for success.
Of the 1,000 magazines launched last year, 60% failed. But if the prospects for magazine success are daunting, the rewards from a big score are as attractive as ever. Among the startups in 2005: Tango, the magazine for relationships, which debuts February 1st,2005. Eva Seave tells Bob why she thinks her magazine will be a survivor. Performer: Cocktail Angst. Song: Kama Sutra, Album: Our Big Top Parade,
While successfully finding a niche solves one problem for a startup magazine, it also creates a problem - There's still the matter of finding enough niche stories to fill up issue after issue after issue. Whereas the editors of, say, Newsweek, need merely look back a week and rehash the news, most magazine editors haven't the luxury afforded by random events. Whether the niche is golfing, hunting, cat fancy or karate, Bob discovers that specialty publications have to generate stories relying solely on their own editorial imaginations while covering the same information again, and again … and again.
Highlights from Past ShowsIn the wake of the Jason Blair scandal at the New York Times, former Newsweek media reporter Seth Mnookin has written "Hard News," a look into how the scandal occurred and how the Times reacted. Bob speaks to Mnookin about the book and the Times' attempts at investigating and correcting itself.
In his second White House term, George W. Bush will be surrounded by new faces, and not just in his Cabinet. There will be changes in the White House press corps, most notably that of the Washington Post, which is being completely revamped. White House correspondent Dana Milbank joins Bob to reflect on his time in the press briefing room.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
